Vettel fastest for Ferrari in freezing Spain test

Sebastian Vettel in his sleek new Ferrari registered the fastest time Tuesday on a snow-curtailed second day of Formula One pre-season testing, edging out Valtteri Bottas of arch-rival Mercedes.

Snow an issue in Catalonia

Vettel was 0.303sec faster than the Finn in freezing conditions as a McLaren, driven by Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne, came third before snow cut the day short at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Due to the freezing weather a scheduled lunch stop was cancelled and the best times were all registered in a brief sunny spell.

A delighted Vettel tweeted: "Fastest Lap of both days of testing - Most Laps Completed - Highest Max. Speed - A more than decent first day at the office."

Carlos Sainz in fifth

Dutch youngster Max Verstappen of Red Bull was fourth while local driver Carlos Sainz Jr of Renault was fifth at 1.539sec.

Robert Kubica, who is attempting to return to Formula One seven years after a horrific crash, but was beaten to a starting seat at Williams by 21-year-old Sergey Sirotkin, scored a small victory as he edged the Russian by 0.332sec.

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